2007 Topstad mayoral election
The 2007 Topstad mayoral election was held on June 30, 2007, to elect Matthew Graham's successor as Mayor of Topstad. The poll took place simultaneously with several other local government elections and the general election. The election was the first in which the Mayor was elected with a instant-runoff voting system. Gary Trent, the Conservative Party of Georgeland's mayoral candidate, was elected as Topstad's mayor as a result of this election. Candidates A total of eleven candidates ran in the election. All major and most minor parties are running candidates. The closing date for nominations was January 30. Liberal Democratic Party of the United Islands *David Collins, 56, councillor for the city's 6th Ward since 1994. In addition to Collins, former Mayor Stuart Hinton,city councillor Candice Clifton, Federal District LDP President Barry Jessup and local media personality Alan Grossman all nominated for the position in the LDP preselection contest held on January 4-6. Collins won the preselection contest handily, in part due to his grassroots campaigning and media exposure due to his work on housing issues. Collins attracted criticism since his nomination, after a series of embarrasing media blunders. In one incident, played regularly in TV news programs and comedy programs such as Here Isn't The News, he forgot the name of his own wife, referring to her as "My wife...er...my wife...my lady wife...Janice." Conservative Party of Georgeland *Gary Trent, 43, councillor for the city's 1st Ward since 2002. Two other candidates sought preselection - Chamber of Commerce president Nat Yates and businessman Ian Drury. Trent based his campaign around fiscal responsibility. He has pledged to cut excessive spending and end "junkets" for local councillors. Trent also promised more sporting facilities and funding for local sports leagues, which opponents have criticised as out-of-step with his pledge to put the city budget back into the black. Georgeland Alliance *June Gould, 50, Federal District President of the Georgeland Alliance party since 2004. Gould narrowly defeated reform activist Martin Kennedy for Alliance preselection. Gould, like most Alliance candidates, promised to govern beyond the normal left-right divide and has cited the high success rate of Santa Christina's mayor, Lois Daniels, in doing this in office. Gould fared poorly compared to other candidates and the Alliance as a whole during the election period, achieving only 3% of the primary vote. Green Party of Georgeland *Melissa Gates, 26, Greenpeace activist. Gates, if elected (though this is highly unlikely) would have been the youngest Mayor in Georgeland's history. Gates ran a positive campaign and recieved a high-degree of media coverage. Gates consistently polled at around 10% of the primary vote, and results gave her a 15% share of this vote, a significant achievement for the Greens. Notable Independents *Natalie Casey, 38, a schoolteacher and community activist who launched a 'grass roots' campaign on the theme of education and childcare. Casey's campaign attracted media attention, and after a story about her campain appeared on the GBC's Issues program on April 12, Casey's campaign recieved a flood of support and finance, and later polls had her running equal to or in front of the Georgeland Alliance candidate. Casey's support was particularly strong amongst the working class and single-parent families. Casey achieved a fourth-place showing in the primary vote, with roughly 8.5%. Other candidates *Barry Simons, Independent *Jeff Holden, Topstad Statehood Party *Jim Vernon, Independent *Ed Hawkins, Independent *Jerry Bates, Socialist Party of Georgeland *Norman "Whoopsie" Musgrave, Official Silly Party of Georgeland. Issues The primary issues facing Topstad's voters at this election are the state of the city's public transportation system and the increasingly congested traffic. Both major parties have suggested differing solutions to the transport problem - the Liberal Democrats favour increasing transport funding, while the Conservatives have suggested privatisation of the city's public transit system in order to create a better, viable, consumer-based service. Another issue, given a higher status this election, is the issue of self-government for the Federal District. Liberal Democratic candidate David Collins has advocated an "associated territory" status for many years, while Tory Gary Trent opposes all moves towards self-government on financial and accountability grounds. The small but vocal Topstad Statehood Party is also running a candidate in the election. Polling In a poll taken on November 5, 2006 (before most candidates had been chosen), 44% of those surveyed indicated their first preference vote would be cast for the Conservative candidate. More recent polling has seen LDP support increase somewhat, as indicated by the following: *'January 12, 2007': LDP 39%, Con 43%, GA 10%, GRN 5% (2PP: Con 52-48) *'January 26, 2007': LDP 39.5%, Con 43.5%, GA 8%, GRN 8% (2PP: LDP 50.5-49.5) *'February 9, 2007': LDP 38%, Con 43%, GA 7%, GRN 9.5% (2PP: LDP 53-47) *'February 23, 2007': LDP 36.5%, Con 44%, GA 6%, GRN 11.4% (2PP: LDP 52-48) *'March 9, 2007': LDP 37.5%, Con 43%, GA 5.5%, GRN 10% (2PP: 50-50) *'March 23, 2007': LDP 35.2%, Con 42%, GA 6.1%, GRN 14.5% (2PP: Con 51-49) *'March 30, 2007': LDP 37.4%, Con 43.6%, GA 6%, GRN 11.5% (2PP: Con 52-48) *'April 6, 2007': LDP 33.2%, Con 44%, GA 6.4%, GRN 13.6% (2PP: 50-50) *'April 20, 2007': LDP 31.3%, Con 40.4%, GA 5.5%, GRN 12.6%, Ind (Casey) 5.6% (2PP: Con 50.5-49.5) *'May 4, 2007': LDP 28.1%, Con 41.2%, GA 4.4%, GRN 11.9%, Ind (Casey) 8.4% (2PP: Con 56-44) *'May 18, 2007': LDP 23.5%, Con 44.2%, GA 2.5%, GRN 10.5%, Ind (Casey) 5.4%, Ind (Simons) 4.3% (2PP: Con 57-43) *'June 1, 2007': LDP 22.2%, Con 42%, GA 2.6%, GRN 11%, Ind (Casey) 5.4%, Ind (Simons) 5.3% (2PP: Con 56-44) Opinion polling currently indicates a close election due to larger-than-expected support for Green candidate Melissa Gates. Green preferences invariably flow largely to the Liberal Democrats. *'June 15, 2007': LDP 23.5%, Con 39.5%, GA 3.1%, GRN 14.2%, Ind (Casey) 6.4%, Ind (Simons) 3.4% (2PP: 53-47) Category:GeorgelandCategory:Events Category:Elections